Consumer society / advertising 49867

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Do you think that nowadays people are victims of consumerism ?

Justify your point of view. Could you become one as well ?

Nowadays, we live in a consumer society and although everybody knows that money can’t bring happiness, our homes are full of useless things. That’s why it would be interesting to see why so many people seem to believe that buying all these things will make them happier. Besides, we may wonder whether it is possible to resist the influence of advertising.

First of all, we must admit that it is quite difficult to ignore advertising. Indeed, it is everywhere around us : in magazines, on TV, on the Net, in the street, ... Advertisers make us believe that we need their products. Teenagers are a perfect target for advertisers because they are easily influenced. Moreover, most teenagers have their own pocket money and some of them even have part-time jobs, which enables them to buy a lot of products. In addition to that, young people often attach great value to clothes and fashion. Sometimes, they are even obsessed by their appearance. That’s why they are ready to spend a lot of money on brand-name clothes. They are manipulated into thinking that they will look better in these clothes, that wearing them will give them personality, which is an illusion because when a celebrity sets a trend, everybody immediately wants the same jeans or trainers as shown in the advert ... so a few weeks later, everybody wears the same clothes ...

Secondly, we can say that people are victims of consumerism when they are ready to get into debts in order to buy something they don’t really need. Such a behaviour can have disastrous consequences : some people lose everything they have ...Indeed, it is very easy to buy on credit thanks to credit cards or bank loans, but sooner or later, you must pay back. That’s why people should think twice before borrowing money from the bank. They should wonder whether they really need it.

As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think I am a victim of our consumer society. Of course, I can’t deny that I sometimes buy useless things, such as new shoes or a new pair of earrings, but I know I could never spend a fortune on something totally superfluous. I can tell the difference between a real need and a mere fancy and I would say I am a reasonable / wise consumer.